As
the proprietor of a bed & breakfast in Oaxaca, Mexico,
I frequently field inquiries from travelers with plans to
visit the city who are intent upon bringing the family dog
or cat along for the vacation. They initially ask if pets
are permitted in our guest level, and then after receiving
a reply in the negative, in a second email ask for names of
alternate hotels or other accommodations which do accept pets.
The advice is always the same, but the inquiries keep coming.

This pet lover and owner of a brindle boxer is not a pet psychologist,
nor professes to intimately know whats right or wrong
when it comes to decisions about the family dog or cat (or
ones children for that matter  lord knows weve
made and will continue to make mistakes raising our daughter),
nor the impact that leaving a pet behind could have on the
mutt or his parents or siblings. However,
there are certain factors which ought to at least be considered
prior to deciding definitively to take Fido or Tabby along
for the trip.

Yes, Some Hotels and Bed & Breakfasts in Oaxaca Do
Accept Pets, Including Dogs and Cats

Of course virtually every major tourist city in the civilized
world includes the odd hotel, guest house or bed & breakfast
which accepts pets, at minimum dogs and cats. Oaxaca is no
exception. For example, a couple of members of the Oaxaca
Bed & Breakfast Association are happy to extend invitations
to the four legged. But most shun the thought of even the
possibility of a cat meowing or dog barking, and therefore
having to contend with complaints from pet-less guests. Certainly
there are exceptions; but what might it reveal about the quality
of lodging if the owner is struggling to rent out rooms to
the extent that he feels compelled to accept dogs, cats, rats,
parrots, snakes and lizards?

Your choice of lodging is dramatically reduced by restricting
the selection to accommodations in Oaxaca which accept pets.
Is the vacation for the Homo sapiens in the family, or for
the canines and felines?

But Think of the Poor Pet, No Matter How Attached You Insist
He is To the Family

Believe it or not, family pets are in fact different from
the human members of the family, no matter how much we might
treat them the same as we treat ourselves, no matter that
they sleep with us in our beds, no matter they might pick
up on our emotions and even thoughts. After the first couple
of hours of the road trip to Oaxaca, will the pet not be less
patient than the children? Is he capable of playing board
games in the car? Would he be happier being cared for in a
quality facility back home where he can frolic with his own
kind?

When we vacation we board Tito with a dog trainer. Now, seven
years later, whenever we begin to gather up his food and water
bowls, and leash and choke chain for the ride, he becomes
unimaginably excited, sensing that hes off once again
to the country club.

Pet Owners with a Dog or Cat Accompaniment in Oaxaca are
Otherwise Restricted

Many ruins and cultural sights do not permit pets, leashed
or otherwise. Yes, the dog or cat can be left in the car,
windows left slightly ajar. But do you want to run the risk
of returning to the parking lot and finding Fido has fled
the coup with the help of a Oaxacan anxious to turn the catch
into coin? Do you want to constantly be obsessing about that
possibility rather than expending all of your energies enjoying
Monte Albán, Mitla or a marketplace? Bringing the pet
will on balance dramatically restrict your ability to enjoy
a number of priority tourist sights.

If Still Not Convinced, Consider Boarding the Pet in Oaxaca,
and Compare Costs

True enough, boarding costs in the US and Canada are prohibitive
for most of us.
Accordingly, as a last ditch effort to convert the otherwise
committed, consider boarding the beast here in Oaxaca. The
advantages of doing so include:

The
cost is about a quarter of what it costs back home.

Your
vacation will have no restrictions in terms of the sights
which you can see.

You
hopefully will not be constantly obsessing about how your
dog or cat is doing; and you wont have to incur long
distance calls to assure yourself.

Your
pet can still enjoy spending quality time with the rest
of the family driving through the American mid-West.

You
can drop by to see him daily and exchange stories about
how the day went. Most boarding facilities have posted visiting
hours.

Hell
be having the vacation of a lifetime, and perhaps even pick
up a bit of Pet-Spanish.

You
wont have any such restrictions on selecting a hotel
or B & B, and accordingly your vacation in Oaxaca will
be that much more relaxing and enjoyable.

Since pet boarding facilities in Mexico invariably have dog
psychologists on staff, you can kill the proverbial two birds
with one stone  use the first half hour for the dog
to deal with his stress, and the other half hour for yourself.

Together
with his wife Arlene, Alvin Starkman operates Casa Machaya
Oaxaca Bed & Breakfast (http://www.oaxacadream.com
). Alvin has written over 200 articles about life and culture
in Oaxaca, assists tourists in planning their visit to Oaxaca
and tour of its central valleys, and with Chef Pilar Cabrera
arranges culinary tours of Oaxaca (http://www.oaxacaculinarytours.com).